A Dissenting Voice on Coverage of Politicians’ Families

I may be in the minority, but I generally disagree with the unspoken rule that politicians’ family members are off-limits to the press.

If politicians use warm and fuzzy images of family members to score points with voters, they can’t cry foul when the media subjects them to scrutiny – as is the case with today’s nj.com story about the legal troubles of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy’s son Joshua.

According to the story, the younger Murphy “actively campaigned for his father, appearing on his behalf on college campuses and in television commercials with his family.”

By virtue of his father’s office and his public role in the gubernatorial campaign, Joshua Murphy is a public figure, and his troubles with the law are legitimate news.